Friday, 26 December 2014

My Top 30 Films of 2014: 30-21

Happy holidays, everybody. Hope you had a lovely time.

Much like last year, I post this annual best of list with the caveat that I haven't seen as many festival movies as I had in previous years and, in fact, my cinema attendance has been well down overall (for many reasons, including moving to a country where I don't speak the language and where almost everything is dubbed). But like last time around I'm sticking to a top 30 format because of the excuse it provides to revisit a greater number of movies. Even allowing for that fall in attendance and lack of much in the way of serious arthouse cinema-going, 2014 was not a vintage year for cinema. I didn't see anything this year that would have cracked the top five in 2013, though there were still a lot of interesting movies released and many, including a large swathe of those in this first installment, were ultimately flawed and uneven but proved interesting anyway.

Pretty slick and exciting sci-fi fare featuring a great co-starring performance by Emily Blunt - who proves herself a compelling action lead. There's not a ton more to add about it here so I'll pad this out by musing about the film's title. Originally holding the more eye-catching title 'All You Need is Kill', which was apparently changed because of fears the word "kill" would lack widespread appeal plastered on every bus stop, the film has since been marketed and released on DVD with packaging that seems to further modify the title to 'Live. Die. Repeat.' - which smacks of a complete lack of confidence in "the product" if nothing else. Anyway, whatever it's called it's worth a watch even if you're usually allergic to Tom Cruise.

It would be here for that "ape takes a tank" shot alone but there's not a lot wrong with this sequel, even if it doesn't match its immediate predecessor which had the benefit of being less sprawling and focussed on one character. It's Andy Serkis' ape Caesar who remains the most interesting presence here and it's always very good when he's the focus but, perhaps in service of the brand, there are also a lot of less interesting human characters. Many of them, notably Gary Oldman's would-be villain, suffer as a result of not being in the film enough to be interestingly developed but conversely have just enough screentime to make you miss the apes. None of the stuff with the humans is bad necessarily, just not as good.27) The Boxtrolls, dir. Anthony Stacchi & Graham Annable, USA

A revenge thriller without the usual romanticism/tawdry fantasy element, 'Blue Ruin' (to my mind anyway) is about the reality of that idea: that revenge is not only a mutually destructive act but also an inherently childish one. Our protagonist is stuck in a juvenile state caused years before by the death of his parents, which he never moved beyond, and finds support on his anti-social rampage in the form of an old high school friend who is equally well adjusted. There's an air of early Coen Brothers menace tinged with black comedy to the whole thing, which on the film's very low budget suggests director Jeremy Saulnier is one to watch.25) Muppets Most Wanted, dir. James Bobin, USA

One of the funniest out-and-out comedies of the year and there isn't a duff musical number in the whole thing . I can't decide what the best song is, but it's between the catchy, Tina Fey sung "Big House", Constantine the Frog's disco-infused love song "I Can Give You What You Want", and the "Interrogation Song" as sung by the year's stand-out comedy double-act (Sam the Eagle and a scene-stealing Ty Burrell). I've rewatched it a bunch of times, including one occasion where it made a transatlantic flight feel far less arduous, and I expect I'll watch it many more times over the years.24) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, dir. Francis Lawrence, USA

The added room for character development and the slower pace afforded by the increasingly common, dollar-sign inspired "part 1" format means we get to see the franchise's impressive supporting cast a little more than we otherwise might have if the series was racing towards its conclusion. In terms of action it doesn't hit the highs of the previous movie, 'Catching Fire', but it's clearly head and shoulders above other tween-lit adaptations.23) Only Lovers Left Alive, dir. Jim Jarmusch, USA

Lower down on this list than it probably should be - I know many people have this near the top of their list and I won't argue - but for me it fell short of matching John Michael McDonagh's first film, 'The Guard', and verging into more melodramatic, emotionally manipulative territory. Still it's beautifully made and Brendan Gleeson has never been better, whilst Chris O'Dowd comes close to stealing the spotlight with a nuanced and complex dramatic performance that suggests a previously unseen depth from an actor more closely associated with playing affable comedic nice guys.

About the blogger...

A former freelance film journalist based in Brighton, I have written contributions to The Daily Telegraph and several websites, provided occasional analysis for BBC Radio Sussex and Radio Reverb, and recently I've been involved with several volumes published by Intellect Books.
I've also written about video games for GamesIndustry.biz.
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